Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Haiti under "State of Siege" after Moise Assassination; President Joe Biden to Speak on U.S. Future in Afghanistan; Growing Myanmar Resistance Movement Training for Civil War; Tokyo under State of Emergency throughout Olympics; Florida Condo Rescue Efforts Transition to Recovery Operation; Sydney Police Ramp Up Social Distancing Enforcement. Aired 10- 10:45a ET
Aired July 08, 2021 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A fragile nation on edge after the assassination of the Haitian president inside his own home.
Who is in charge of the country now?
We're going to have a live report.
Also, the clock is ticking. Two weeks from the Olympics, Japan declares a state of emergency involving the coronavirus. We're going to go live to
Tokyo for the details.
And power grab: Taliban forces taking more territory as U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: It is 10:00 am here in Atlanta, 6:00 pm in Abu Dhabi. Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade in for Becky Anderson. Good to have you with us. Welcome to
CONNECT THE WORLD.
We begin with new details emerging on the assassination of Haiti's president. Authorities now say four suspects were killed in that shootout,
two others taken into custody. President Jovenel Moise was killed in his home Wednesday.
I want to play sound for you said to be around the time of the assassination. CNN can't independently confirm the recording's
authenticity. You can't see anything but you can hear someone, who reportedly claims to be from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Take a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Haiti's ambassador to the U.S. says he doesn't believe they were in fact U.S. drug enforcement agents. The country right now remains under a
state of siege, with its borders and international airport closed and martial law imposed.
So who were the suspects and what happens now to Haiti, which was already a very troubled nation?
CNN's Matt Rivers joins us now from Miami, Florida, which, of course, has a large Haitian population.
And you are at the hospital where the first lady is being treated. She, of course, was with the president when he was assassinated.
What are you learning right now about what unfolded during that assassination?
What are you hearing about the suspects?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are so many questions that remain unanswered at this point, Lynda.
We're outside the hospital here. I can tell you that the first lady was medevaced here yesterday, is said to be in stable but critical condition
after also being shot during this armed assault of the presidential residence.
Let's give our viewers the latest of what we know from the Haitian government, specifically from the ambassador from Haiti here to the United
States.
The ambassador saying this morning that four different suspects, believed to have taken part in this assassination, have been killed by Haitian
national police. Two others have been detained. So that's six in total, with the ambassador saying that all six of those people were foreign
nationals, though he is not saying from which country those six people are from.
He said they're still trying to figure out their nationalities but he said all of them are foreigners at this point.
He also says that there could be more than six people involved in all this. And so this manhunt for anyone who is involved in this assassination is
very much ongoing at this point.
But to that sound that you played earlier, with someone saying, you know, this is a DEA operation, both the State Department here in the United
States and also the Haitian government both strongly, categorically denying that the DEA actually had anything to do with this.
They believe that the people who carried this out are what they are calling extremely trained mercenaries, posing as DEA agents. But that just leads to
more questions.
Who are these people, Lynda?
Who is financing them?
What was the motivation behind killing the president?
We know he had a lot of enemies over the past few years.
What is the reasoning behind all this?
And not the least of which would be, how were these people able to actually get inside the presidential residence?
We know there are multiple security checkpoints that exist before getting to that residence. This would be presumably very difficult to fight your
way through. And yet the only two people that we know said to be injured in all this are the president and the first lady.
[10:05:00]
RIVERS: We have no reports of people inside the house, for example, security forces engaging in a firefight, being injured themselves. So there
are so many questions that remain unanswered. And how quickly we're going to get those answers is a very open question at this point.
KINKADE: We have plenty of questions, not a great deal of information, as you say, at this point in time. I do want to ask you, Matt, about who
exactly is running the country right now because, as I understand it, the prime minister was meant to be replaced yesterday by a person selected by
the president before this assassination.
RIVERS: Right.
And so this is the big question, right, who is going to actually be in charge of the Haitian government?
Right now it would be the acting prime minister Claude Joseph but Ariel Henry was appointed by the president to be prime minister shortly before
his death. Henry has said that, while Joseph is a part of his government, he is not, quote, "his prime minister."
The clear line of succession -- and it's a murky line of succession normally in Haiti -- but the clear written line of succession was supposed
to be the president of that country's supreme court that would take over, should something happen like what happened to President Moise.
However, the president of the supreme court recently died of COVID-19, which leads us to this current situation. Claude Joseph, the acting prime
minister right now, would have to be confirmed by that country's parliament.
That country's parliament is essentially defunct. It hasn't sat since 2020 because there have been a lot of issues with scheduling the next round of
elections, which is part of the reason there have been so many protests there.
So I say all of that, Lynda, the conclusion of all that would be, it is very murky right now, who is running Haiti today and into the near future.
KINKADE: All right. Matt Rivers for us. A lot to stay across. A developing story, we will touch base with you again soon. Thank you.
Well, former South African president Jacob Zuma is in prison right now but he may not stay behind bars for long.
On Friday, a high court judge will rule on whether police should have waited to take him into custody until after his scheduled court hearing
this coming Monday. The 79-year-old turned himself in late Wednesday and was driven from his compound to begin serving a 15-month prison sentence.
Last month, Zuma was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to appear before a commission investigating corruption allegations against
him. CNN's David McKenzie joins me now live from Johannesburg, South Africa, for more on this.
So David, Zuma handed himself in to begin this 15-month sentence after he pretty much condemned the charge, the charge of contempt.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And there was an 11th hour maneuver, literally, 15 past 11:00 at night, Zuma left his
compound, a compound he vowed never to leave to go to prison, and handed himself over to the police and on to a prison, a hugely significant moment
for South Africa.
For years, Lynda, Jacob Zuma has faced corruption allegations, fraud allegations, racketeering charges. It ended up him thumbing his nose at
the highest court of the land that got him this contempt of court sentence, something that he's still fighting with legal wrangling.
He may be released at some point on parole. If not, he could be released as soon as next week if they change tack on this. But still hugely significant
that the former leader of this country, who spent 10 years in jail with Nelson Mandela, is behind bars -- Lynda.
KINKADE: It is interesting that he is eligible for parole in four months, should he stay in prison. But already he has asked the court to cancel the
sentence for a number of reasons; one, of course, being that he might catch COVID-19 in jail.
MCKENZIE: Well, that might be one of their legal maneuvers but I certainly saw president -- former president Zuma himself, when we were there a couple
of days ago, surrounded by a large crowd of people and no one was wearing a mask.
So if that is the reasoning, there might be some logic holes put in that one. But there is a sense that he's, at least, almost run out of legal
options to at least spend several months in prison.
And it's seen as a very significant moment, not only for Jacob Zuma but also for his supporters, who lead a faction within the ruling ANC. Many of
those people face corruption charges themselves. So it's almost the case of potentially this being the first figure to fall.
KINKADE: Yes, it certainly is a fascinating story to watch. David McKenzie for us, good to have you with us. Thank you.
[10:10:00]
KINKADE: This hour, U.S. President Joe Biden is getting briefed on troop withdrawal in Afghanistan by his national security team. Ahead of comments,
he is expected to give on Afghanistan later today, he is expected to outline America's role there going forward, including security and
humanitarian assistance.
Well, earlier in London, British prime minister Boris Johnson gave an update on his country's troop deployment. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: All British troops assigned to NATO's mission in Afghanistan are now returning home. For obvious reasons, I will
not disclose the timetable of our departure but I can tell the house that most of our personnel have already left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Prime minister Boris Johnson there.
Well, the Taliban are taking advantage of recent troop withdrawals rapidly gaining territory, especially in the northern provinces. But the Taliban's
efforts to take a provincial capital have been met with resistance from Afghan forces. Our correspondent Anna Coren has been tracking developments
in Afghanistan all week and joins us now live from Kabul.
Anna, in the last couple of months, as we have seen U.S. troops and its allies withdraw, the Taliban have been taking more territory, now about 150
provinces.
What's the latest?
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, it's more like 160 districts that the Taliban have claimed and has been fierce fighting in
Badghis province; we saw that yesterday, where they attempted to seize the provincial capital of Qala-e-Naw. Fighting continued there again today.
We know that there were airstrikes yesterday, carried out by the Afghan air force. Commanders were also on the ground, pushing back the Taliban.
However, we have heard that the fighting has continued.
We were actually at Kabul air base today, speaking to the air force, taking part in some of those airstrikes. You know, it's not necessarily the most
sophisticated system in place. They've got about 300 planes all up, cargo planes as well as fixed wing as well as helicopters.
But they are taking the fight to the Taliban. There is no doubt about it. And they are still getting that support, if you like, from the Americans,
although we don't know how long that will last.
But at the moment, Lynda, it would appear that the Afghans are taking this fight to the Taliban, particularly in the north of the country. This whilst
we still have peace talks happen yesterday in Tehran, that was hosted by the Iranian foreign minister.
So on the one hand, the Taliban is saying that it wants peace. The other, it continues to fight on the battlefield.
KINKADE: Absolutely. Anna, you have been speaking to Afghans who helped the U.S. and its allies over many years, who desperately want help to get
out of the country.
What can we expect when U.S. President Joe Biden speaks later today?
COREN: That's right, President Biden due to speak in the next few hours. We hear that he is going to talk about his plans for those Afghan
interpreters, who worked with the U.S. military over the past 20 years.
We know that there are 18,000 applications for this special immigrant visa. But we are learning, Lynda, that only 9,000 will be processed. President
Biden due to give a timeline on those applicants. We are hearing that he wants to move them to a third country, to a safe haven.
We know the U.S. government has been in talks with several Central Asian nations to work out if that could be a temporary solution whilst those
visas are processed. But we are hearing that flights out of Afghanistan for those Afghan interpreters could happen within weeks.
We are also hearing, though, Lynda, from women's groups, women's rights groups, who say the Biden administration needs to consider visas for
vulnerable women. We have seen the Taliban targeting female journalists, judges, police officers, teachers, you know, successful educated women here
in Afghanistan.
Obviously, that is everything that the Taliban despises. You know, they don't want women outside. They don't want them educated and in the
workforce. Previously, when the Taliban ruled, you know, women could not leave their houses without a male relative.
Afghanistan has come too far to go back to the Dark Ages. So these women's rights groups are saying that the Biden administration needs to factor in
these vulnerable women and offer visas to them as well.
But you know, it's interesting, Lynda, you hear about what the American government is trying to do for these people -- and it's a noble thing and
it's obviously something that -- they feel responsible for these people.
[10:15:00]
COREN: But these are some of Afghanistan's best and brightest. You know, 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25. There are a lot of
people here in Kabul at university; you know, they're educated.
There's a woman who lives in this house who is studying journalism. She wants to be a journalist. This was -- another female journalist was killed
last month. It's just heartbreaking to think there will be a brain drain here in Afghanistan, with not only those people who get visas moving to
America but others, who just feel they have no future and have to leave this country.
KINKADE: Yes, absolutely. Well, we will tune in to that press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden in a little over three hours from now to see
what, if anything, he is going to offer the people of Afghanistan, who you are talking to there. Our Anna Coren in Kabul, thank you.
Well, still to come here on CONNECT THE WORLD, fighting back in Myanmar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're villagers, young workers and many are former students, who protested the
coup and now believe that they must take up arms against it.
KINKADE (voice-over): Our Sam Kiley going deep into the jungles of Myanmar, where rebel are training in order to wrestle (sic) control of
their country back from the military.
And some tough news for Olympic fans in Japan. The country announcing strict new measures as it tries to host a safe Olympics in the middle of a
global pandemic. We're going to go live to Tokyo after the break.
And in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD, Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson is calling his upcoming space flight a, quote, "'pinch me' moment."
I'll talk live to the former commander of the International Space Station about what the billionaire can expect.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back.
A United Nations human rights official is calling for tougher economic sanctions on Myanmar to try to force the junta from power. The U.N. special
rapporteur wants the international community to target Myanmar's oil and gas sector to stop revenue, which is streaming into the military.
Meantime, resistance groups are making their own plans to oust the military. They are training for a civil war. Our correspondent Sam Kiley
traveled deep into the jungle to get a first-hand, exclusive look at a training camp. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KILEY (voice-over): A grueling journey through jungle eventually revealing this: a rebel base in Myanmar, Camp Victoria, a major headquarters in a
nationwide uprising against the country's military junta.
[10:20:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forward, march.
KILEY (voice-over): Some 200 volunteers from around the country have come seeking the military skills that they want to fight a regime that seized
power in February and has brutally raised hopes of democracy here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
KILEY (voice-over): They're villagers, young workers and many are former students who protested the coup and now believe that they must take up arms
against it.
NAING HTOO LWIN, VOLUNTEER, CHIN NATIONAL FRONT: Sad, it's very sad. They killed many people of our country. This camp can give me the power to fight
the military junta.
KILEY (voice-over): The instructors are members of the Chin National Front, a longstanding separatist army that is now in alliance with many
others under Myanmar's national unity government in exile.
KILEY: These raw recruits are on day three of their training. They're only going to get 45 days' training. That includes drill, assault courses and
above all, weapons training before they're going to be thrown back into the fight.
DR. SUI KHAR, VICE CHAIRMAN, CHIN NATIONAL FRONT: They're equipped with local guns.
KILEY (voice-over): Rebel leaders know more blood will flow.
KHAR: There are more than 15,000 already and still coming. Still organizing. I mean mobilizing the armed fighters. And this is what the NUG
is trying to equip arms for them.
KILEY: So it really is a civil war, isn't it?
KHAR: Leading to a civil war, now we've seen the kind of urban guerrilla attack but within months it will transform into a conventional civil war.
KILEY (voice-over): Recent fighting with the junta forces has meant that reinforcements have been rushed to defensive lines. But the rush training
has dangerous consequences.
KILEY: This young man, his comrades have told me, was blown up by an improvised explosive device that he was trying to plant as part of the
defensive perimeter around this camp and around some of the villages that are threatened by the government army.
KILEY (voice-over): Already, refugees are on the move, leaving these idyllic villages for hillside camps.
Taosong (ph) told me that the women, children and elders fled their village when they heard through the sounds of fighting. Many men stayed behind but
everyone fears the military for its brutality.
The Chin National Front says it's trained 3,000 people at Camp Victoria. Those who've graduated have been immediately deployed.
Most of their weapons are bird-hunting homemade shotguns, stored with an open fire to keep the damp off. They believe that this is a just fight but
they're short of weapons and rushed through training. And it will take more than righteousness and shotguns to topple a military regime.
And as the conflict continues, the numbers of dead will rise to a level when eventually, people may start to lose count. -- Sam Kiley, Camp
Victoria, western Myanmar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Japan is taking a tough approach to help curb the spread of COVID-19 just two weeks before the Olympics is set to begin. Organizers
will hold Olympic events in Tokyo without spectators, a move, they say, was a heavy decision.
Organizers are still considering allowing spectators for events outside Tokyo that are not under a state of emergency.
Well, all this comes shortly after the Japanese prime minister placed Tokyo under its fourth state of emergency due to a spike in COVID cases. It is
scheduled to go into effect Monday and will last throughout the Olympics. Our correspondent Selina Wang joins us now from Tokyo for more on all of
this.
Selina, this state of emergency is not just going through the Olympics but two weeks post the Olympics. Certainly unbelievable situation, where you
have got the Olympics proceeding in the midst of a global pandemic, under a state of emergency and now with no fans.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lynda, exactly. These games are unprecedented in so many ways, from the litany of COVID restrictions and
now no spectators in the capital of Tokyo.
Honestly, Lynda, this decision comes as a huge relief to much of the public here and public health experts, who, for months have been saying, if these
games are going to go ahead at all, they should be held without any spectators.
Tokyo is dealing with a surge in COVID-19 cases. Cases reached -- surpassed more than 900 on Wednesday, the highest level in months. And the Delta
variant is contributing to more of the new COVID cases here in Tokyo.
[10:25:00]
WANG: Public health experts have been warning that these games could lead to another massive spike and once again push Tokyo's medical system
potentially even past its brink.
Now the ban is on venues in Tokyo, where the majority of the Olympic events are going to be held. For the other prefectures that are hosting Olympic
events, we still don't know how many people and spectators will be allowed at those.
Previously, organizers had said up to 10,000 people would be allowed at these Olympic venues. Overseas fans, we have known, for many months now,
have been banned. Right now Japan will be under that state of emergency, as you mentioned.
It is not a strict lockdown but it means that restaurants, bars are going to have to close down early. Alcohol is going to be banned. And people are
frustrated that, amid a state of emergency, when their lives are restricted in their streets and in their stands, the world's largest sporting event is
still going to go ahead -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, it's such a shame because hosting an Olympics is typically such an exciting time for most countries. I was in Sydney, when the
Olympics happened there. Normally the excitement is palpable.
But clearly we're seeing a lot of protests over these Olympics. And yet nothing seems to be done about the low vaccination rate there.
What are the issues, why are so few people vaccinated?
WANG: Lynda, that's right. The low vaccination rate here is a key concern. Just 15 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Now there are a whole host of reasons why Japan, one of the most technologically developed countries on the planet, has been very slow to
this. One of the key reasons is Japan's very slow vaccine approval process.
Japan has a history of vaccine scandals and people are wary of side effects. Because of that, the government has a slow approval process. In
addition to that, there have been tons of logistical hurdles. In recent weeks, the vaccine program has finally been ramping up.
But again, municipalities are starting to deal with bureaucratic and logistical challenges. But the vaccine rate has been picking up
significantly. The question is, how much more it's going to reach before the Olympics starts.
Protests, as you say, have been happening here today. In Tokyo, where I am now, I was talking to protesters here and they are very angry and
frustrated. Take a listen here to what one protester and one passerby told me today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We should not hold the Olympics with increasing COVID cases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Infections will definitely spread if the Olympics are held. And overseas visitors will bring the virus
back to their home country. It will be a disaster. My poster says --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WANG: Now Bach, the head of the IOC, is a deeply unpopular figure here in Japan. That woman told me she thinks he represents corporate greed. The IOC
pushing ahead with the games at the expense of potentially people's health and lives.
So it is really an unprecedented games, Lynda, in so many ways. And the public sentiment here has not yet shifted in favor of these games.
KINKADE: Nor does it seem like it's going to. Selina Wang for us in Tokyo, thank you so much.
Well, as Japan prepares to welcome tens of thousands of athletes from around the world, parts of Australia are under another round of stay-at-
home orders that are set to be extended. I'm going to speak with an Aussie chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan about what he thinks of these repeated
lockdowns from a business perspective.
Also next hour, investigators are going to find out exactly what unleashed a huge blast in Dubai's port, sending a fireball through the sky. That's
all ahead.
Stay with us. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
U.S. authorities have made the decision everyone knew was coming but no one really wanted to hear. The search for survivors in the deadly condominium
collapse in South Florida is now in the recovery phase.
Search crews paused for a moment of silence after authorities announced that news; 60 bodies have been recovered from the rubble; 80 people are
listed as potentially unaccounted for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.
KINKADE (voice-over): The crowd united in prayer for the victims and their loved ones. CNN's Leyla Santiago has more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 14 tireless days, the search and rescue effort in Surfside shifting to a search and recovery
effort, a moment of silence held by rescue teams before the transition.
CHIEF ALAN COMINSKY, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: This decision was not an easy one, as our hearts still hope to find survivors. But our experience and
expertise indicated that was no longer possible.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Families informed at their daily briefing with officials as bodies are more quickly being discovered now that the debris
field has opened up after Sunday's demolition, officials say it is the right time to make the transition.
COMINSKY: This decision was not based on any other reasons, except on facts that emerged during the extended the search and rescue operation.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Several survivors of the building collapse revisiting the site of the debris today, families being assured the
recovery effort will not slow down.
ASST. CHIEF RAY JADALLAH, MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE: The only thing that changes is just the term resources are still there. The men and women are
still there.
MAYOR DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA (D-FL), MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: Our first responders have truly searched that pile every single day since the collapse as if
they're searching for their own loved ones.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava visibly shaken as the mission is taking its toll on everybody involved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen any indication from any of the bodies that have been recovered so far that any of them survived the initial
collapse?
COMINSKY: No, we have not.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): As rescue teams continue clearing away and searching debris at Champlain Towers South, the Surfside mayor is still
working to assure its sister building, Champlain Towers North, built with the exact same specs, is safe.
MAYOR CHARLES BURKETT (I-FL), SURFSIDE: They're in there with ground penetrating radar and other tools to continue to assess the structural
situation there at that building.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): The buildings collapse has raised questions about whether other seaside residential structures in Miami-Dade could be at
risk, 40 of them have already been inspected, only one found with a structural deficiency.
CAVA: There will be changes. There will be improvements made.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): And as for the recovery mission, teams continue to work around the clock to bring closure for families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the chief and I have always promised to ensure that all of our loved ones are pulled from the rubble and reunited with their
families.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Leyla Santiago, CNN, Surfside, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, police in Sydney, Australia, are about to ramp up enforcing social distancing measures. The city is enduring yet another coronavirus
lockdown. Starting Friday, they will deploy more than 100 police officers, as well as dogs, mounted units and air surveillance and highway units.
Stay-at-home orders have already been in place more than a week, one of a series of snap lockdowns the country has imposed over the last 1.5 years.
Well, the tactic has certainly been effective at controlling infections.
[10:35:00]
KINKADE: Australia has only a tiny fraction of the cases that the U.K. and the U.S. have.
But many are asking, where are the vaccines?
My next guest calls Sydney a ghost town.
He says, quote, "The government did a good job getting the city back to a good place. And it's a shame where we are now. But if it continues, I
really think we're going to have a big problem with tourism and hospitality. We're going to see a lot of small operatives fall under."
Well, leading Australian chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan joins me now. His company owns and operates restaurants in Sydney and around the world.
In 2019, he was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia.
Great to have you with us, Luke.
LUKE MANGAN, RESTAURATEUR: Thanks, Lynda.
KINKADE: This two-week lockdown in place in Sydney was meant to end at the end of this week. It's been extended again. For some people working from
home, it might not be a big deal.
But for people in the hospitality industry, people that run restaurants, people that work in restaurants, what sort of impact, though, is this
having?
MANGAN: Well, you're right there. As you say, we're coming up to our third week as of next week. And it's a huge impact. This is a thing that's
costing the state and the hospitality and tourism business hundreds of millions of dollars and lots of people are out of work.
I mean, as I said -- and as you said in the beginning, people -- the government have got us to a good spot. But it's just -- we're scratching
our heads now that, why we're in this position, where only 8 percent of our population is vaccinated and perhaps we won't even get to 70-80 percent
until January-February of 2022.
So it's a real concern, you know, the small business people and the roll-on effect of tourism operators, restaurants, cafes and wine bars is quite
massive, as you can imagine. So we've got all those younger people working in the industry, who have been through those tough times, who now are
finding themselves not getting paid and then that roll-on effect from supplies to producers of produce is a real thing (ph).
And you know, before pre-COVID, we had bushfires, we had drought. And now COVID and it's coming back again.
KINKADE: I want to ask you a little bit about that lag in vaccinations because it is really, really low compared to the rest of the developed
world. I'm wondering what the main issues are. It sounds like there was a lot of hesitation when it comes to AstraZeneca.
Have attitudes changed towards that vaccine, which is the main one on offer in Australia, given this current lockdown?
MANGAN: We have two on option, AstraZeneca, as you said, and Pfizer. We got Pfizer -- the AstraZeneca first, I should say. And the message out from
the government has been really bad. We had some blood clot issues, which, I believe, the percentage rate is very, very low developing that.
And the message that came out from government and world media wasn't great. So I think that has given Australians a lot of hesitancy. And then I think
all the bets were put on that vaccination trial (ph), where we put the second, sort of doubled down on Pfizer and we don't have enough.
This month in July, Australia is only seeing a couple of million doses coming through this month but it's building up. And by September-October,
more vaccinations will come with the Pfizer. So AstraZeneca was not a good thing for us and the Australian population have sort of turned against it,
sadly.
KINKADE: And international borders are virtually shut. Even Australians, who are fully vaccinated, can't freely travel overseas. And certainly
passenger caps coming into the country mean hardly anyone can get into Australia.
What does this mean for tourism, for hospitality?
You, of course, have businesses overseas as well.
Given that at some stage borders will open, are they, you know, is Australia ready to handle a potential rise in cases?
MANGAN: Well, this is the million dollar question. Sadly, we're in lockdown here in New South Wales and Sydney, Australia. We can't get to
Victoria and Melbourne. We can't get to Brisbane and Queensland. We can't go anywhere in the country at the moment.
So that's as frustrating as it is. So when the borders do open I think -- and this is going to be a while off, because, once we're all vaccinated to
80 percent and look what you guys have done with your population over there, it seems very good.
We looked around the world now and you can see Wimbledon tennis; that's full. Las Vegas seems to be going off, pool parties everywhere. Here we
are, stuck in the middle of winter and we just don't have the vaccinations here.
So the government has made some wrong errors there, you know; 12 months ago, we were looking like the best country in the world because we had
everything under control. We had low cases.
But -- and we still have low cases but I guess what we need to do in this country is live with this and learn to live with this virus.
[10:40:00]
MANGAN: So businesses can still survive and we can employ people and get back to some sort of normality. I think that's the real problem, where our
government is sort of halting to live with this virus.
And what we see around the world, well, it's starting to happen in the U.K. and the U.S. But there are, you know, just what you said about Japan. That
seems a worry, so we certainly don't want to get that.
Are we being too protective?
I'm not sure. But there is a double-edge sword that is because you have to think of the mental health situation of people and their businesses and
being locked down all the time, which is not great.
KINKADE: Yes, certainly not great. Luke Mangan for us, currently under lockdown in Sydney, Australia, good to get that perspective from you. And
all the very best.
MANGAN: Thanks for having me, Lynda.
KINKADE: Still to come in CONNECT THE WORLD, Dubai is shaken, the port hit by a huge explosion. We're going to assess the damage with a live report
from the scene. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back. Well, they did it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE (voice-over): They really did it. England fans celebrating a victory that may have seemed impossible and that many never have
experienced before. England in the final of a major international tournament for the first time in 55 years after a 2-1 victory over Denmark
in the U.S. semifinals Euro 2020.
(WORLD SPORTS)
END
